Marc Ross, an NFL.com analyst, listed the Cleveland Browns as the single most complete team entering the 2021 season. Not the Super Bowl champion Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Not the runner-up Kansas City Chiefs. Not the Buffalo Bills, who had the No. 2 defense in 2019 and the No. 2 offense in 2020. No, it was the Cleveland Browns, the same team that was 6-10 in 2019, the year before Andrew Berry took the reigns of the front office. In 2020, they were a legitimate threat to win the AFC North and make a run in the playoffs, and they should be even better this season with a healthy offense and a revamped defense.
Here's what Ross said about that new-and-improved unit:
Despite an All-Pro campaign from Myles Garrett, the defense had its struggles in 2020, but general manager Andrew Berry did a great job addressing those areas in free agency and the draft. The Garrett-led defensive front got a boost on the open market with the additions of Jadeveon Clowney, Takk McKinley and Malik Jackson . But the unit that should see the most improvement this fall is the secondary. Cleveland signed two key members of last year's top-ranked Rams defense (S John Johnson and CB Troy Hill ) and drafted CB Greg Newsome in the first round. Greedy Williams could also add depth with a healthy return from a shoulder injury that kept him out all of last season. Another big addition for the Browns this offseason: Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah, a second-round linebacker most evaluators considered a first-round talent. JOK is a versatile player who could impact any defense immediately.
Once again, Berry went to work, and all of his moves should pay dividends immediately. He looked at the roster, looked at the payroll, looked at everything a general manager needs to analyze... and then he went to work. He strategized, he executed and though only time will tell just how well his decisions will work out, our expectations are high.
It should come as no surprise, then, to learn about Berry's biggest non-football hobby. His wife, Brittan, responded to a curious fan on Twitter who was pondering what Berry did in his limited free time.
"He wins all strategy games 98% of the time." Hear that? That's probably what you want from the person responsible for laying out a roster and payroll strategy in the highest-pressure environments that the world of sports has to offer. And though collecting and wisely spending resources such as grain, lumber and ore in an attempt to grow settlements in the world of Catan isn't quite the same as figuring out the final roster spots to build the strongest and deepest team possible, I'm sure there are a handful of transferrable skills that allow him to win at both.
Perhaps we'll discover more ways in which GMs spend their free time while continuing to hone their strategizing, competitive skill set in Thomas Dimitroff's upcoming TV show, featuring at least 15 figures who hold that position.
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